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Of all the gin joints in all the world

Sarah Woods in the Grill House Taverna, Cyprus

Now approaching his 80th birthday, Antonis Anastasiou has been throwing open the doors of his pretty taverna in Larnaca, Cyprus, for longer than he cares to recall.

After unfastening the wooden shutters he pauses momentarily to deadhead his bright pink geraniums and breathe in the smell of sea spray mixed with tobacco smoke and fried halloumi cheese as he gazes out across the Mediterranean.

A kafenio (coffee house), bar and eatery, Anastasiou's place is rarely empty. After their siestas, the menfolk hunch over thimble-sized cups of sweet Cypriot coffee known as "glyko", served with two heaped teaspoons of sugar, and enjoy a game of backgammon.

Music plays - usually the folkish strains of a laouto (a type of lute) - over the constant clatter of plates and chatter. Anastasiou's apron-clad sidekick cuts up chunks of chalky feta while slabs of honey-soaked pastries are traded for salacious titbits and tales of political strife.